KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Friday, June 14, Janet Miles-Bartee, the president of the Local Investment Commission (LINC), greeted middle school students from all around Kansas City at the door.
"Did you go home and take a nap? Cause you going to be up all night long," Miles-Bartee said.
Miles-Bartee and her staff planned a "lock-in" event for middle school boys across Kansas City.
It was an all-nighter with food, speakers, a basketball clinic at Hy-Vee Arena, and a soccer clinic in Kansas City, Kansas.
The event took the boys across Kansas City to participate in different activities.
“What we want to do is, bring kids together from different communities and get them to understand they have the same issues and concerns in town,"said Jason Ervin, the athletic director at LINC.
Ervin is focused on helping the students see the similarities and LINC hopes that will reduce gun violence across Kansas City and the metropolitan area.
“People don’t realize — so many of our middle schoolers have access to guns," Miles-Bartee said. “So we want to talk with them about what it really means to hold a gun in your hand and what it means to take a life, because once you take that life, it doesn’t come back, and your life changes forever. They may not hear about it at home; a lot of families may not have guns at home, but they hear about it at school in the communities. There’s no way to get away from it, so it's better to educate."
Ervin spoke about the impact that bringing students from different parts of town into one room could have.
“Maybe that can curb some of the violence of some of these kids and help them get to know each other from different neighborhoods,” Ervin said.
At the event, students from across the Kansas City area met for the first time, running drills, hanging out, and sharing a meal.
They heard from speakers, mentors, and college athletic programs.
"When they find they have things in common, when they build relationships with each other, they are able to work out their differences," Miles-Bartee said. “A lot of times it’s the unknown. It’s not knowing that person and not knowing, 'Oh, we came from the very same circumstances, the very same neighborhoods and communities.' So when we find out there’s a connection between them, they treat each other differently."
Parents are in on it too.
"This is something that really keeps the kids safe and keeps them in a good positive environment," said Shamika Sanchez, whose child attended the event.
Another parent said, "I hope that he learns independence, and he enjoys being around other people he hasn’t been around."
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